Michaela Juaire (1) of Lakeville North scrambles for a loose ball against Hopkins' Taylor Woodson. ] Hopkins takes on Lakeville North in the quaterfinals of 4A girls basketball tourney at Williams Arena. Photo: RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII • richard.tsong-taata
So ample are her offensive talents that Paige Bueckers doesn’t often get credit for her abilities on the defensive end.
Bueckers had the chance to show her complete game Wednesday in the Royals’ 68-46 victory over Lakeville North. Offensively, she scored a game-high 29 points. She was just as good at stopping the opponent, holding Lakeville North guard Lauren Jensen to just nine points, 18 below her per-game average.
“I’m not just a huge offensive-minded person,” Bueckers said. “I want to stop the person I’m guarding. Zero [points] is the goal.”
Jensen, a Star Tribune All-Metro first-team selection and former AAU teammate of Bueckers, said she expected to have trouble with that matchup.
“I knew it was going to be tough,” Jensen said. “She so lengthy, too. She made life difficult today.”
Hopkins overcame a sluggish start, found its footing midway through the first half and cruised to an 68-46 victory over Lakeville North in the first Class 4A quarterfinal Wednesday at Williams Arena.
Paige Bueckers scored 29 points to lead the No. 1-seeded Royals, who improved to 30-0.
Analiese Tschida paced Lakeville North (18-12) with 20 points, including the 1,000th point of her career.
Check back later for more on the game.